Spurs striker’s four goals at Leicester City took him two clear of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku with one game remaining

Harry Kane says he is proud to have passed the 30-goal mark again and to be leading the Premier League goalscoring chart despite missing 13 matches in all competitions this season.

The Tottenham striker suffered ankle ligament injuries in September and March, and he has played 725 fewer minutes than Everton forward Romelu Lukaku in the top flight.

When Kane arrived at Leicester for last night’s fixture, he was two goals behind Lukaku in the race for the Golden Boot, but he scored his first four-goal haul in a resounding 6-1 victory, taking the lead with just one round of fixtures to go.

The 23-year-old has now registered 26 times for Spurs in the Premier League this term and 32 times in total, making this the third season in a row that he has passed the 30-goal mark – although last year’s tally of 32 included four England goals.

“I’m proud of the fact that even though I’ve had two injuries this year and have been out for 11 weeks, I’m still up there at the top of the Premier League chart,” said Kane.

“To score 30-plus goals again is a big achievement for me and one I’m very proud of.

“Going into the game two behind, I was hoping to get one or two last night and keep myself in the race for Sunday, so to get four and win 6-1, I couldn’t have dreamed of that. To score those two at the end made it the perfect night.

“I’ve had my eye on the Golden Boot from the start. I had a go at Sonny (Heung-Min Son) for his first his couple of shots and said he should probably have passed to me, but he set up my first one and it was nice to score.

“I’m sure Lukaku wasn’t too happy, but there’s one game to go and I’m sure he’ll be determined to try to score a hat-trick on Sunday. They have a tough game against Arsenal but there’s still one more game.

“We have to play Hull away and I’ll be looking for a couple of goals there too. It’s all to play for but I couldn’t have dreamed of scoring four.

“It would be great if I could join that 100 club in the Premier League by the end of next season. I think I’m on 75 now and to get 100 would be a fantastic achievement.”

Mauricio Pochettino has pinpointed Spurs’ disappointing run of form in October and November – when they only won one out of 10 games in all competitions - as the period that cost them in the title race.

During that spell, the Lilywhites were held to three successive draws by West Brom, Bournemouth and Leicester in the league – all matches that Kane missed because of injury.

Asked if Tottenham might have won the league if he had stayed fit, Kane said: “It’s hard to say, it’s not my place to comment on it.

“Injuries are disappointing, they happen, and it wasn’t just me this season. Toby [Alderweireld] got injured, [Danny] Rose got injured, but the lads who came in did a fantastic job.

“I wouldn’t be able to say yes or no but hopefully I can stay fit for the majority of next season and we can go and get that league title.”

By his own high standards, Kane has started relatively slowly in the last two seasons. It took him nine games to get off the mark in Spurs colours in 2015 and he only netted once in his first five matches this term.

But in both cases he had just been involved in a summer tournament, firstly with England’s Under-21s and then the senior side at Euro 2016.

This summer is set to be quieter, and Kane hopes he will be able to hit the ground running in August.

“It’s difficult, the England games are right in the middle of June so I still don’t get a whole summer, but it is what it is,” said Kane.

“It’s more than I’ve had in the past so I’ll make the most of it. Getting away is not so much a physical rest as a mental one. I’ll keep myself fit and mentally have a good break on the beach, just chill.

“Next season hopefully I can get going in that first game, get a couple and go from there. If not I’ll stay calm and see what happens.”

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